Day Fifteen – Canterbury
Today we went to Canterbury where we explored the wonderful sites of this medieval cathedral city.
In the morning, we visited Canterbury Cathedral. It was founded in AD 597 by the first Archbishop of Canterbury, Saint Augustine, and is the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is also the site where Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, was brutally murdered on the accidental orders of King Henry II in the Martyrdom at the cathedral. Ever since the Middle Ages, the cathedral has been a site of pilgrimage for those looking to be healed at the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket, and even influenced Thomas Chaucer to write the famous Canterbury Tales.
In the afternoon we went on a river boat tour along the River Stour where students learned all about the witch dunking in the Middle Ages and about some of Canterbury’s history.
The students then had some free time to do some exploring (and shopping) in small groups before getting on the coach to go back to campus. In the evening, they participated in a number of voluntary activities including hockey, swimming and volleyball.